African American Religion Hoodoo - Essay Example

African-American Religion: Hoodoo Hoodoo is an American term, originating in the 19th century or earlier, for African-American folk magic. Hoodoo consists of a large body of African folkloric practices and beliefs with a considerable admixture of American Indian botanical knowledge and European folklore. Although most of its adherents are black, contrary to popular opinion, it has always been practiced by both whites and blacks in America. Other regionally popular names for hoodoo in the black community include "conjuration," "conjure," "witchcraft," "rootwork," and "tricking.

" The hoodoo tradition places emphasis on personal magical power and thus it lacks strong links to any specific form of theology and can be adapted to any one of several forms of outward religious worship. Although an individual practitioner may take on students, hoodoo is not an obviously hierarchical system. Teachings and rituals are handed down from a one practitioner to another, but there are no priests or priestesses and no division between initiates and laity (Haskins, 1978, p. 13, 124).

Like the folk magic of many other cultures, hoodoo attributes magical properties to herbs, roots, minerals (especially the lodestone), animal parts, and the personal possessions and bodily effluvia of people. The African origins of hoodoo can clearly be seen in such non-European magical customs as jinxing, hot footing, foot track magic, crossing, and crossroads magic, in which are embedded remnants of the folkloric beliefs of various African tribes. A generic term for this class of folk-magical operation is tricking, or laying down tricks.

Foot track magic ascribes magical essence to a person's footprint. In practice, the conjurer may, for instance, bury the lifted footprint dirt of his or her victim in a bottle spell with other items or lay a trick by sprinkling a special magical mineral-based powder. Walking over the buried bottle spell or contact between the powder and the victim's foot results in magical "poisoning," an "unnatural illness," or a run of bad luck. Crossing is a sub-set of foot track magic in which the person's path is "crossed" with a mark drawn in the dust or laid out with herbs or powders.

The "hurt" enters the victim through the feet when he or she walks over the mark or trick. Crossroads magic involves a set of beliefs about the acquisition of power and the disposition of magical items at a crossroads or place where two roads intersect (Yronwode, 2002, p. 55-60, 169-171). Hoodoo makes use of Native American botanical folklore, but usually for magical rather than medical purposes. The influence that Natives had on rootwork is openly acknowledged, moreover, many of the most famous rootwork practitioners of the 19th and 20th centuries came from mixed-race families (Long, 2001, p. 174-186).Hoodoo also freely incorporates European botanical folklore - for instance, the notion that carrying a buckeye nut will cure rheumatism, which is German and Dutch in origin.

Furthermore, since at least the early 20th century, most hoodoo practitioners have familiarized themselves with European-derived books of magic and Kabbalism (Yronwode, 2002, p. 16). When it comes to divination systems, a few urban hoodoo readers use astrology and some read tea-leaves, palms, or cards - but they are as likely to use a deck of 52 playing cards as a tarot set. The oldest form of hoodoo divination, "casting the bones", is a direct survival of a West African system of divination with bones.

Divination from dreams is an important part of hoodoo, too. Practitioners consult "dream books," alphabetical listings in which each dream image is accompanied by a short interpretation and a set of lucky numbers to use in gambling (Long, 2001, p. 76). Probably the one thing that most distinguishes hoodoo from other systems of folk magic is the centrality of the mojo bag, or mojo hand. This item frequently takes the form of a flannel bag filled with roots, herbs, minerals, and other "curios." The mojo bag is usually carried on the person, but it can also be hidden in the bedroom or at a place of business, or placed behind a doorway.

There is a taboo against anyone who is not the owner touching it (Yronwode, 2002, p. 25, 98-113). Like European magic, hoodoo makes use of ritual candles, incense, oils, and powders - to which are added, due to the African emphasis on footprint magic and spiritual cleansing, floor washes and spiritual baths. A hoodoo spell (called a "job") consists of "fixing up" a mojo or prescribing a ritual for bringing in good luck or diagnosing metaphysical problems and then countering them. These metaphysical problems are called "conditions.

" The formulae for oil, incense, powders, floor washes, baths, and candles used to bring about luck and to "stop evil conditions" are named after the conditions themselves. Among these are such traditional and colorful titles as "Money Stay With Me", "Kiss Me Now", "Hot Foot", "Law Keep Away", and "Fast Luck" (Yronwode, 2002, p. 135). Thus, folk magic is a world-wide phenomenon. The beliefs and customs brought to America by African slaves mingled here with the beliefs, customs, and botanical knowledge of Native Americans and with the Christian, Jewish, and pagan folklore of European immigrants.

The result was hoodoo. Reference List1. Haskins, J. (1978). Voodoo and Hoodoo. Scarborough House Publishers, Stein and Day. 2. Long, C. M. (2001). Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic, and Commerce. University of Tennessee Press. 3. Yronwode, C. (2002). Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic. Lucky Mojo Curio Co.